Broken
by Sculla
Summary: Sequel to Crush. Joker confronts the Asari that killed his little sister on Tiptree.
1. Chapter 1

"Remind me why I'm dragging my crippled ass all the way up here again?"

John looked to the left and had to supress the urge to roll his eyes. Joker was scowling at everything in sight as he hobbled beside the Commander as they made their way to the lift up to Huerta Hospital. "Because Dr. Chakwas threatened to break out the big needles the next time I needed medical attention if I didn't take you to your _required_ check-up." John replied.

Joker shot him an amused look. "Ooh the Big Needles." He drawled sarcastically.

John rolled his eyes and gave the pilot a small punch on the shoulder; nothing too big that it would cause any damage but just enough for the pilot to get the point.

"Hey, stop hitting the poor defenceless cripple!" Joker cried in mock pain as the pair stopped next to the elevator doors.

John turned his head to hide his rolling eyes and caught the dirty look that a pair of Asari's sent him. He swung back to see Joker quickly switching his grin to the look of someone in pain. _Yeah okay, two could play that game_. "Just wait until I get you back to the Normandy." John threatened.

Joker's eyes widened slightly at the growling tone until he caught the amused look in his Commander's eyes. "Yes, Sir. Sorry Sir." He replied before looking at the ground to hide his smirk and pulling his arms around himself defensively.

John cast a quick glance over his shoulder. The audience had grown from just the two Asari to include a Salarian, a Volus and two Turians; all of them glaring at him. "You should be." He replied blandly before crossing his arms and leaning against the wall as they waited for the elevator. "You know, you're really gonna pay for that once we get back." He murmured out of the corner of his mouth so only the pilot could hear.

John heard Joker chuckle quietly beside him. "Oh yeah? What you gonna do?" he asked quietly in return; the low tone of voice he used sent a quiet thrill down John's spine.

"So many things, Flight Lieutenant. So _many_ things." John supressed the smirk that threatened to make itself known when he felt Joker shudder at his response.

"How about we skip my appointment and you go punish me now, Commander." Joker replied after a second.

John smiled as he felt the pilot's nimble fingers slide down his side to rest on the small of his back; hidden from the view of everyone in the immediate area by the wall. "Big Needles, Joker." John replied seriously.

Joker groaned and rolled his eyes as he pulled away. "You're such a baby, Commander." The smaller man stated.

"Just because you grew up being a pin cushion doesn't mean that everyone else likes them." John muttered defensively as he stepped into the elevator a second after it arrived. He tapped the button to take them up to the hospital and moved aside to let the pilot into the small box.

"Hey, being a pin cushion probably makes me hate them more than you, but that doesn't mean I'm _afraid_ of needles." Joker laughed. "Maybe I should tell Khalisah al-Jilani about the infamous Spectre, Commander John Shepard's irrational fear of big needles."

John groaned. "You do and you'll never see the inside of the Normandy again." He threatened.

Joker just laughed again causing John to smile softly. It had been almost two weeks since he'd told the pilot about the death of his younger sister and it was great to see the man returning to his usual sarcastic self. He was originally leery of taking him to Huerta but Chakwas was adamant that Joker go for his Vrolik's check-up at the Citadel hospital due to its larger lab. He just hoped that the Asari Commando had been discharged; either way it was probably prudent that he should avoid letting Joker go on that side of the reception area.

They arrived and managed to make it from reception to Joker's doctor without any major problems and John let out a breath of relief that he wasn't aware that he had been holding. Joker kept shooting him odd looks at his uncharacteristic quietness as the doctor poked and prodded at his body so he tried to act as usual. This wasn't too hard when the Salarian doctor pulled out a large needle to draw blood and he tried to unobtrusively edge around to the far side of the bed.

"Chicken." Joker murmured with a grin.

"Bite me." John muttered back.

"Maybe later." Joker responded with a leer as he looked John up and down causing the Commander to flush slightly.

The Salarian thankfully interrupted before their conversation could go any further with a torrent of medical jargon that went completely over John's head and only caused Joker to roll his eyes and sigh. John tried to pay attention as the doctor brought up his Omni-tool and explained further with the aid of images but most of it was lost on him. When Joker suddenly sat up straight out of his habitual slouch John's attention snapped back to him.

"Is that her?"

John frowned at the intense tone the pilot used and he turned to see what had captured his attention. When he saw the Asari Commando from Tiptree his stomach plummeted. _Shit._

"Joker…don't."

However the pilot refused to heed John's warning and he slid off the bed and stalked as fast as his body would allow toward the oblivious Asari. "Hey, hey you!" he called out as he approached.

"Joker, stop!" John demanded as he ran over and put a restraining hand on the pilot's shoulder.

Joker shot the Commander a withering look and tugged his arm out of John's grip. "No, Shepard. I want an answer." He growled before resuming his march toward the Asari who was now watching his approach with a wary expression.

"Jeff this is a bad idea." John stated as tried to slow the pilot's determined walk. _If she tells him what really happened…_He thought with rising panic knowing that he had lied to his lover when Joker asked how Hilary had really died. _This could be really bad._

"Can I help you?" The Asari finally asked.

"Yeah, you can help me alright." Joker growled as he came to a stop a few feet away from her. He stabbed a finger in her direction before continuing. "You can tell me why you kill my baby sister!"

"Jeff!" John cried before he tried to drag the pilot away again only to be shrugged off by a surprisingly strong set of arms. "Jeff, this isn't the place. You're drawing everyone's attention." He said in an attempt to appeal to the pilot's sense.

"Killed your sister? What are you talking about human?" The Asari asked as she pushed to her feet.

John suppressed a groan and tried to pull Joker away again. "Don't worry about it." He said in an attempt to diffuse the situation. However Joker evidently had different ideas.

"Tiptree; it's a small colony in the Attican Traverse. You went there with the rest of your Commando squad when the Reapers attacked." Joker explained forcefully.

The Asari's eyes widened slightly at the announcement. "You're the Alliance Pilot brother?" she asked in surprise before realisation sank in and she looked away in shame.

"She…Gunny told you about me?" Joker asked in shock.

"When we escaped into the hills the first time, she talked about her family." She answered. John closed his eyes and sighed; resigned to the fact that Joker was about to find out the truth.

"She wasn't hurt?" Joker asked in confusion.

The Asari eyed him for a second before looking away again. "Not then no." She replied. "That happened after we went back to the colony to radio for help. The farmers were indoctrinated and attacked. We hid in a barn but her leg was broken and bleeding."

Joker frowned shook his head in irritation. "I don't…a broken leg isn't serious." He whispered causing John to wince knowing that Joker had stumbled across the truth.

"I…no, but she was whimpering and I saw Neaira through a hole in the boards…she was coming closer with those dead black eyes…and the farm girl wouldn't stop crying, they would hear." The Commando spoke with an increasingly hysterical tone.

Joker had frozen as the Asari told her story and John felt helpless at the look of dawning horror on his lover's face. "What did you do?" Joker whispered.

"What do you think?" The Asari growled before she turned away to look out the large window at the bustling traffic below.

"You murdering bitch!"

John wasn't the only one to jump at the outburst from the pilot and he looked up to see Joker throwing himself toward the stunned Asari. "Jeff!" he cried in surprise as he dove after the man.

He grabbed his lover around the waist and hauled him off the Asari. Part of him was grateful that she was too shocked to throw Joker across the room with biotics; he could just imagine the damage it would do to his brittle bones. Joker struggled in his hold as he pulled the pilot across the room and John couldn't help but be surprised at the strength that was required to keep the man in his grip. "Joker!...Jeff, stop it!" he demanded.

"Let me go!" Joker growled as he continued to struggle. "That bitch murdered her! She murdered Gunny in cold blood!"

"Dammit, Jeff! Stop, that's an order!" John shouted as he pushed Joker against a nearby wall and trapped him with his larger body; careful of his weaker bones. John could hear the Asari cursing up a storm on the other side of the room and a quick glance showed she was being held back herself by several Asari doctors; one of whom was injecting her with what he assumed to be something to knock her out. "Jeff, look at me." He ordered as he tried to catch the struggling pilot's eye.

Joker refused to listen and continued to push against his Commander as he cursed the Asari Commando.

"_Jeff!_" he growled again before cursing and slamming his hand against the wall with a flare of biotics next to the pilot's head. Joker jerked away instinctively and John winced along with Joker when he heard the sharp crack of something breaking. "Shit." He cursed as he pulled back and hesitantly touched Joker's shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked as he ran his eyes over the shaking form in an attempt to determine where the break was.

He wasn't expecting the punch.

"You lied to me!"

John looked up at the pissed pilot in surprised shock from his position on the floor. He sat up and gingerly rubbed his jaw; Joker could throw a mean wallop when he wanted to John learned much to his chagrin. Unfortunately it looked like he got the better end of the bargain as the pilot was cradling his injured hand with the other and was grimacing in pain when he wasn't glaring at John.

"Joker…" he began before trailing off with a sigh. Great, now he wasn't sure how to fix this.

"You lied to me." Joker repeated, this time his voice was softer and John winced at the hurt coating his voice.

"Jeff, I didn't mean…"he started before falling silent once more. John pushed to his feet and hesitantly stepped closer to Joker. When the pilot pulled away, he felt his heart freeze. Dammit, he'd well and truly fucked things up now.

"I think you should go." Joker stated with a wavering voice as he looked away from John. "I need to finish my appointment…and probably get my hand fixed." He added belatedly.

John let his hands drop helplessly to his sides and stared at Joker in terrified confusion. Was Joker breaking up with him? "No Jeff, I don't want to. Just let me explain-" he began before Joker cut him off.

"No!" he shouted before he winced and glanced down at his broken hand. "No." he repeated in a quieter voice. "Just…just go, John…please."

John stood watching Joker for a few seconds in the hope that the pilot would change his mind however when the change didn't come he looked away and bit his lip. "Right…I'll just…I'll send Doctor Chakwas up to help." He said with a faint gesture towards Joker's hand. The Pilot only nodded and still refused to look in his direction. "I'm sorry." He murmured before he turned and made his way toward the elevator at the far end of the room. He could feel the eyes of almost everyone in the room on him, all except the pair that mattered. He felt stinging at the corner of his eyes as he tapped the button to summon the elevator but he stubbornly refused to let the tears fall until after he'd made it back to the Normandy with the message to Chakwas and locked himself in his cabin.


	2. Chapter 2

**Right managed to unlock the plot bunnies and work out the reconciliation between Shep and Joker. Read on!**

Broken Part Two

It had been two hours since EDI notified John of Joker's return to the Normandy. John had raised his head from his knees where he had curled up below the fish tank and asked EDI what his lover's status was when he arrived. The AI's silence all but screamed her disapproval of his earlier actions and John was left to wonder about Joker alone.

How could he have been so stupid to assume that it was better to lie about Hilary than tell the truth? The look on Joker's face when John had told the pilot about his sister's death two week ago was still fresh in his mind. He had thought he was doing the right thing when he'd told the pilot the Asari had killed her in mercy. Unfortunately as the scene in the hospital a few hours ago testified, it obviously wasn't.

John's right leg was beginning to cramp but he ignored it; he deserved to feel a little pain. He also ignored the buzz from his door signalling someone outside his room. He had disregarded two attempts from Kaidan, one from Garrus, three from Tali and five from Liara to draw him out of his quarters; what made them think he was going to open his door this time?

He had well and truly screwed things up with Joker, he thought morosely as he stared at the metal floor in front of him. The look on the pilot's face when he realised that John had lied to him was like someone had stabbed him in the heart. When he thought about it, the feeling had come as a surprise. He didn't realise that he felt so strongly about the lively pilot, nothing in his childhood of growing up on the streets gave him any indication on what his feelings were. And now, when he may have only just begun to realise what he was truly feeling he'd gone and blown it. Typical.

The door buzzed again and John shot it an annoyed look. "Piss off." He muttered rebelliously under his breath, knowing that the person on the other side wouldn't hear it. God, why hadn't he bypassed the Port Observation room on the way up and raided the bar? He could use a drink right now.

What if Joker didn't want to remain on the Normandy? John felt his blood run cold at the thought and he clenched his hands into fists to stop the shaking. God he hoped not. The Normandy was Joker's baby; if he left her…then John was pretty certain he wouldn't see Joker again. The thought made him curse out loud and slam a fist into the wall beside him. The pain ran through his hand brought tears to his eyes and he weakly clenched and unclenched his fingers in an attempt to alleviate it. "Now I know how Joker feels." He murmured softly.

The door buzzed again but this time the person on the other side just leant on it and it sent a continuous droning throughout the captain's cabin. Growling, John pushed to his feet and stalked over to the door and slammed on the button allowing the door to hiss open. "What?" he snapped angrily before realising who exactly was standing on the other side. "Jeff…" he whispered as he took in the pale form of the pilot.

Joker's right hand was covered with a myriad number of bandages and held closely to his body with a sling. John could tell from the slightly glazed look of the pilot's eyes that Chakwas has given him the good drugs. In actuality, John was amazed that Joker had made it all the way up to his quarters from the Med Bay.

"What…are you even supposed to be out of Chakwas' eyesight?" John asked hesitantly, unsure of how Joker would respond to him.

"Probably not." Joker replied. "But I can barely feel my face so I don't really care." He added with a lopsided grin.

"Jeff…" John sighed before he hesitantly reached out toward the pilot. When Joker didn't pull away, John let out the breath he'd been holding and gently guided the swaying pilot into the room and toward the chair at his desk.

"Don't wanna sit on the chair." Joker muttered as John pushed him down in a hint to get him to sit.

"The couch then?" John asked as he led the pilot down the step into the main area of his room. Joker paused and looked blearily at the black leather seats before shaking his head. John bit his lip at the action, the only other place was the bed and he didn't think that was going to be a good idea until maybe after they talked.

"Come here." John instructed gently at he pulled Joker over to the fish tank. He sat down in his previous position and softly tugged the pilot down to sit beside him. Once the other man was situated John looked over him once more and bit his lip when he took in the tired expression. "I'm sorry." He whispered.

Joker opened his eyes from where he'd closed them and gazed at his Commander seriously. "Me too." He replied. "I shouldn't have hit you."

John chuckled and ran his fingers over his bruised jaw. "It's okay, probably deserved it."

"Well yeah." Joker replied with a roll of his eyes. "But I still shouldn't have hit you. It was stupid; I broke ten of the twenty-seven bones in my hand."

John felt his eyebrow's rise at the confession and he looked down at the injured limb in regret. "Sorry." He murmured again.

"S'okay." Joker answered. "I'm on the good stuff so I don't feel it. Gonna be out of commission for a while until they heal though."

John winced and looked away. Great, something else he'd managed to screw up for Joker.

"Hey." Joker said sternly accompanied by a sharp elbow to John's side. "It'll only be about a week or so. Those Cerberus upgrade I got almost a year ago kinda speed up the recovery process."

"Okay." John replied weakly, knowing the pilot was expecting some form of answer.

They were silent for a few seconds before Joker shifted slightly. "I was thinking maybe…" he began before hesitating. John turned toward him and sent him an encouraging look before the pilot continued. "Maybe I could, I dunno, stay up here for the duration of my recovery. If that's okay with you I mean?" he added on hastily.

John felt himself still. Was Joker asking what he thought he was asking? He opened his mouth but nothing came out; he was still reeling over the possibility that Joker wanted to stay with him. Joker seemed to think his silence was a refusal since he pulled back and looked dejectedly at the floor.

"It's okay if you don't." The pilot muttered.

"No!" John cried. He saw Joker's reactive flinch and he pulled himself together to answer more calmly. "No, you can stay if you want." He responded softly and he reached out to gently take Joker's uninjured hand. "I just thought…that maybe you didn't want…." He trailed off, not wanting to voice his negative thoughts.

"That I wouldn't want to stay with you?" Joker asked, typically getting to the heart of the matter.

"Yeah." John answered thickly.

"Shepard…John, I'm sorry I gave you that impression." Joker whispered. "What Aeian T'Goni said at the hospital pissed me off and I took it out on you."

"T'Goni?" John asked in confusion.

"The Asari Commando." Joker elaborated. "I asked one of the nurses while they were fixing me up."

"Oh." John said. "I shouldn't have lied." He muttered as he looked down at their joined hands.

Joker was silent for a few seconds before answering. "You were only trying to protect my fragile ego." He joked.

John looked up startled at the inappropriate humour and saw the pilot giving him a wavering smile. The sudden rush of emotion he felt surprised him and he leant forward to rest his forehead against Jokers. "I love you, Jeff." He murmured softly as he looked into the pilot's green eyes.

Said eyes widened in response and John had to supress the urge to grin at the reaction. "Oh…uh…" Joker fumbled to reply as he pulled back and looked up at the biotic.

"You don't have to say anything." John reassured even though he felt something stab him painfully in the gut when his confession wasn't immediately returned.

"No, it just that you surprised me is all." Joker answered with a rush. "I wasn't expecting you to say it first." He pulled his uninjured hand from John's grasp and gently brushed the side of the Commander's face. "I love you too, John." He stated softly before leaning forward and gently pressing his lips against John's.

John felt something lighten within his chest as he pulled Joker's head closer and deepened the kiss. He parted his lips and gently licked the other man's lips, emitting a slight moan as Joker's mouth opened allowing his tongue entrance. They continued kissing for several minutes until they both separated, breathing deeply and in need of air.

"So…we're good?" Joker asked with a grin as his eyes looked up at John and sparkled in the dim light from the fish tank.

"Yeah." John breathed as he leant down to kiss his lover again. "We're good."

_AN: Right so that's the end of this little story. Since it's a sequel to Crush I may or may not end up posting another story to do with this pairing further along in the Mass Effect story line…hmm maybe something to fix that complete cluster*%$# Bioware made of the ending…what do you think? _

_Review and let me know!_


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